News

The Kazickas Family Foundation sadly notes the passing of a member of the extended Kazickas family: Romualdas "Ray" Kestutis Gruodis who passed away on Friday, January 22, 2021 at the age of 87. Jurate Kazickas shares kind words remembering her cousin Ray:

The Kazickas Family Foundation started year 2021 with new hopes and exciting news that it granted $116,805 to support 26 Lithuanian Heritage schools in the US. The Alexandra Kazickas Grant Program (AKGP) was started in 2012 in memory of beloved Alexandra Kazickas (1920-2011) who was deeply committed to the preservation of a Lithuanian identity for young people growing up in the US.

During the year of the unknown, ASSIST, connecting America’s finest schools with the world’s leading scholars, managed to continue its mission with some adjustments. Every year among the scholars from 52 countries, Lithuania is represented by six high school students who get a chance to spend their junior year at the American boarding schools. The Kazickas Family Foundation proudly sponsors tree of them.

Today, January 13, Lithuanians across the globe stop to remember the importance and price of Freedom. Thirty years ago 14 people lost their lives on Lithuania's path leading to democracy. Today, on a Freedom Fighters Day, Forget-Me-Not blooms close to our hearts and candles in the windows remind us why we are free and how special Freedom is to every Lithuanian of every generation no matter where they are.

In the United States January 11 is observed as National Human Trafficking Day and January is observed as National Human Trafficking Awareness month. Today millions of men, women, and children around the globe still are being exploited for their bodies and their labor. The Kazickas Family Foundation is committed to help end human trafficking in Lithuania. 

Happy Holidays and all the best in 2021!

This Thursday, December 17 at 12:30 pm Dr. Gintarė Venzlauskaitė, Fall 2020 Joseph P. Kazickas Post-Doctoral Fellow in Baltic Studies will be presenting on the research she has conducted at Yale this fall. Her talk is titled "Identity, Agency, and the Constraints of Political Conditionality: Understanding Lithuanian Diasporas of Displacement Through Narratives of Return."

Year 2020 surprised us all with a complicated obstacle course. However, "Youth Can" team continues navigating through this course in a creative way! New challenges lead to new ideas, different approaches, solutions and remind us to never give up. According to an old proverb, "when life gives lemons, make lemonade," so "Youth Can" team has been using this opportunity to accomplish new goals with tools provided.

Even though year 2020 put many plans on hold, Uncommon, previously known as SPROUT Coding, was busy growing and moving forward. It empowers young adults from low-income communities in Zimbabwe with the technology education and opportunities they need to escape poverty forever. It is done by creating innovative learning environments, teaching in-demand tech skills and placing graduates in meaningful employment.